India with its diversity of languages and being the second largest country in terms of population is now a key focus area for Wikimedia - the foundation that runs the Wikipedia project. In just 10 years, Wikipedia has become a phenomenon and a ready reckoner for knowledge in the world, not just in English, but in over 270 different languages spoken by human kind. There are already 20 Indian language Wikipedias and another 20 are in incubation.

January 15, 2011 will mark a decade of Wikipedia. Founded by Jimmy Wales in 2001, Wikipedia has become the fifth most popular website in the world with 410 million monthly readers (comScore, November 2010). Just three years after its founding, Wikipedia reached 500,000 articles in 50 languages. Now, at 17 million articles in 270 languages and growing, Wikipedia is the only top-ten website in the world that is truly user-generated, supported and maintained. Over the last ten years, hundreds of thousands of people have contributed more than one billion edits to this vital resource.

Wikipedia celebrates its tenth anniversary globally on the 15th of January 2011. Wikimedia will celebrate this milestone with volunteers, donors, and other supporters on six continents. From the launch of a new outreach project in Kenya to a film screening in Tel Aviv, there are currently 110+ events planned worldwide. Wikipedians and well wishers in India are celebrating the tenth anniversary in a big way, with celebrations being planned in 20+ cities across India. Bangalore is one of the active hubs for Wikipedians as there is a regular meet up organized at least once in a month. As part of the celebrations, Wikipedians in Bangalore are organizing a day-long meet up on Saturday the 15th of Jan, 2011. The event is likely to be attended by about 250 Wikipedia enthusiasts along with Wikimedia Foundation officials and guest speakers.

This will be a platform to connect Wikipedians with the general public and other focus groups in the city. There would be sessions to introduce Wikimedia projects to the public with a view to spur both consumption and creation of knowledge on various Wikimedia projects. There would also be updates from various Wikimedia projects as well as joint project planning sessions with various city focus groups.

Agenda (On January 15, 2011 at National Institute of Advanced Studies)The 9 AM - 4:30 PM event is primarily targeted for regular Wikipedians
& Wiki enthusiasts and 5:00 PM event is for the general public.Segment 1: Wikipedian CommunityTime: 09:00 to 13:00Audience: Wikipedia editorsPurpose: Share Updates, experiences and Best practicesSegment 2: Connect with other city Special Interest GroupsTime: 14:00 to 16:30Audience: Wikipedians and SIG members Purpose: Explore possibilities of working together and collaboration. Identify common projects.Segment 3: Public eventTime: 17:00 to 21:30Audience: Everyone is invited. (Like Wikipedia, come on in!)Purpose: Communicate Wikipedia Mission, facts, showcase its coolness, reach out to public, share India focus, discussion.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Log on to http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore to a part of this event.